Franchise opportunities: customer interviews that reveal real choices

Franchise opportunities customer interviews should uncover how people made a real choice, not ask them to approve a sales proposition. The seven prompts below cover decisions that matter to either an operator audience or the customers of a proposed English unit. They are not a ranked script.

What to take away

How these questions were selected

Each prompt had to invite a specific example, avoid assuming the franchise is attractive and connect to a decision about content, territory or operating fit. The method follows the Government Digital Service guide to in-depth interviews, which recommends open, neutral questions and encourages stories about actual events rather than general views.

Ask only the prompts relevant to the participant. An operator candidate and an end customer should not receive the same interview.

1. What started your search, and what did you do first?

This reveals the trigger and the participant's natural starting point. Follow the route in order. Ask which website, person, event or local business came next without suggesting an answer. For end customers, replace "search" with the last time they needed the relevant service.

2. Tell me about the last option you ruled out

A rejected offer often exposes minimum requirements more clearly than a preferred one. Ask what information was available, what remained uncertain and the exact point at which the person stopped. Do not defend the brand or correct their interpretation during the interview.

3. What work did you expect to do in a normal week?

This is for prospective operators. Probe selling, delivery, travel, staff supervision and administration. Compare their picture with the actual model after the session. A mismatch may require clearer recruitment content rather than a more persuasive call.

4. Which cost or commitment was hardest to verify?

The government-backed buying-a-franchise guide identifies initial and continuing costs, location, support and restrictions as matters to investigate. Ask where the participant looked and what evidence they trusted. Do not ask for sensitive financial amounts unless the research decision needs them.

5. Who else influenced the decision, and how?

A partner may share financial exposure, an accountant may challenge a forecast, or another franchisee may explain the workload. The BFA's questions for a franchisor recommends asking about the network, support, fees, restrictions and exit. Use those areas as follow-ups only after the participant names the influence.

6. What alternatives were available in this area?

For an end customer, ask what they bought, postponed or did themselves. For an operator, alternatives may include another franchise, employment, a business acquisition or starting independently. Capture place and date so the answer can inform the English territory under review.

7. What would you need to see before taking the next step?

Keep this at the end. It can identify missing evidence such as a clearer weekly role, comparable unit data, territory information or a conversation with existing operators. It does not prove the person will proceed once that material appears.

Interview conduct and records

Prepare follow-up prompts, but allow a surprising account to develop. Use a note-taker so the interviewer can listen. Immediately afterwards, mark direct observation, participant statement and researcher interpretation as separate categories.

Interviews can collect contact details, recordings and commercially sensitive experiences. GDS guidance on participant data and privacy advises explaining intended use, limiting collection, securing the material and agreeing deletion arrangements. If a supplier recruits or transcribes, decide its access and responsibilities before the first session.

Run the questions with a small, deliberately varied group, then revise the guide. Repeated answers are a finding only within the recruited sample. Report who was included, who was absent and which decision changed as a result.

Before you act

Common questions

How were the seven interview prompts chosen?

Each prompt had to invite a specific example, avoid assuming the franchise is attractive and connect to a decision about content, territory or operating fit. The method follows the Government Digital Service guide to in-depth interviews, which recommends open, neutral questions and stories about actual events rather than general views.

Why should an operator candidate and an end customer get different interviews?

The prompts cover decisions that matter to either an operator audience or the customers of a proposed English unit. The article says to ask only the prompts relevant to the participant, and that an operator candidate and an end customer should not receive the same interview.

What should happen to interview records after each session?

Use a note-taker so the interviewer can listen, then immediately mark direct observation, participant statement and researcher interpretation as separate categories. GDS guidance advises explaining intended use, limiting collection, securing material and agreeing deletion arrangements. If a supplier recruits or transcribes, decide its access and responsibilities before the first session.